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Trae Young says he’s best player in 2018 NBA draft, with goal to be NBA's best player

Trae Young is a projected lottery pick and talked confidently of his aspirations to be one of the league's best players, but it was his measurements that drew the most attention at the NBA draft combine in Chicago.

CHICAGO — Projected NBA draft lottery pick Trae Young was asked on Friday if he thinks he’s the best scorer in the draft — given the fact that he led the nation in scoring in his freshman season at Oklahoma with 27.4 points a game.

His answer was blunt and oozed with confidence.

“I think I’m the best overall player in the NBA draft,” Young, the projected No. 8 pick in USA TODAY Sports’ latest mock draft, told reporters. “My main focus isn’t to be necessarily the best player in the draft, it’s to be the best player in the NBA. That’s what I’m focusing on each and every day.”

Young didn’t participate in any drills on Thursday at the combine, but his height and stature drew the most attention. He measured at barely over 6-feet tall and had the shortest wingspan at 6-3 in the entire combine. He also was the lightest player at the combine at 177.8 pounds, although he told reporters he put on 10 pounds of muscle since the conclusion of his college career on Friday.

Young’s father, Ray, tweeted out a photo on Thursday that had his son side-by-side with two-time MVP Steph Curry, who had strikingly similar combine results. When Young took the college basketball world by storm last fall, he drew immediate comparisons to Curry for his shooting range and earned praise from LeBron James. The Cavaliers hold the No. 8 pick in the draft.